Walter Reed again earned an A grade from the Leapfrog Group for fall 2025, reflecting the hospital’s continued commitment to patient safety and high-quality care for service members, their families, and other Military Health System (MHS) beneficiaries.

The Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit watchdog organization, evaluates hospitals nationwide on safety and prevention measures, including those concerning errors, injuries, and infections, assigning grades from A to F twice a year to participating facilities. Leapfrog's grading system uses up to 22 evidence-based measures of patient safety.

Leapfrog released its fall 2025 Hospital Safety Grade on Nov. 13, assigning grades to general hospitals in the United States based on their ability to protect patients from medical errors, accidents, injuries, and infections. “These largely preventable problems harm one in four hospital inpatients and cause as many as 250,000 deaths each year,” according to Leapfrog officials.

The Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) engagement with Leapfrog began about eight years ago when DHA sought to incorporate Leapfrog's evaluations into the MHS’s Quality Assurance Program. Walter Reed was the first military test site for Leapfrog surveys.

“We hope these latest Hospital Safety Grades inspire our patients’ confidence in the quality and safety of care they receive,” said Dr. Paul Cordts, DHA’s deputy assistant director for Medical Affairs and chief medical officer. “This distinction belongs to teams of professionals at these military hospitals, who are dedicated to meeting the highest safety standards in the United States,” Cordts added.

“This national recognition reflects what we already know, our military treatment facilities (MTFs) are among the safest and most reliable in the country,” stated U.S. Navy Rear Adm. (Dr.) Reginald S. Ewing, III, director of the Defense Health Network National Capital Region (DHN NCR), in a congratulatory message to the Walter Reed staff.

“Earning an A is a rigorous achievement, and for our two flagship hospitals in the NCR [Walter Reed and Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center at Fort Belvoir, Virginia] to do so simultaneously speaks volumes about the dedication, teamwork, and excellence that define our Network. To every provider, technician, corpsman, nurse, administrator, and support staff member who contributed to this accomplishment, thank you. Your daily commitment to patient-centered care and clinical quality ensures that our service members, families, and retirees receive nothing less than world-class treatment,” Ewing added.

A great accomplishment all around – and my heartfelt thanks to all of you whose work contributed to this prestigious acknowledgment. You are the reason we remain the gold standard for health care for our service members and their families,” stated Acting DHA Director Dr. David Smith.

Walter Reed scored better than average in the prevention of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infection for its fall evaluation, with Leapfrog officials explaining, “Staph bacteria are common in hospitals, but MRSA is a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to (cannot be killed by) many antibiotics. MRSA can be found in bed linens or medical equipment and can be spread if providers do not properly wash their hands between patients. MRSA can cause life-threatening bloodstream infections, pneumonia and surgical site infections.”

Walter Reed also scored better than average in the prevention of sepsis infections after surgery, which requires staff to closely monitor patients for signs of sepsis following surgical procedures, including a high heart rate, low blood pressure, fatigue, confusion, and severe pain.

Other areas that Walter Reed scored better than average in included preventing problems with surgery, such as “not leaving objects in patient’s body, not having surgical wounds split open, and preventing kidney injuries and serious breathing problems after surgery.”

Leapfrog also highlighted the Walter Reed staff for “safe medication administration, handwashing practices, communication about medicines and discharge, and teamwork to prevent errors.”

Walter Reed also rated high in “nursing and bedside care for patients, effective leadership to prevent errors, specially trained doctors care for ICU patients, communication with doctors and nurses, and responsiveness of hospital staff.”

According to Leapfrog, “grades are determined by public, peer-reviewed methodology, calculated by top patient safety experts under the guidance of a national expert panel. The grading system is fully transparent and freely available to the public at https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/.

For more information about Walter Reed, visit https://walterreed.tricare.mil/About-Us.